pg_flo

pg_flo

The easiest way to move and transform data between PostgreSQL databases using Logical Replication.

ℹ️ pg_flo is in active development. The design and architecture is continuously improving. PRs/Issues are very much welcome 🙏

Key Features

• Real-time Data Streaming - Capture inserts, updates, deletes, and DDL changes in near real-time
• Fast Initial Loads - Parallel copy of existing data with automatic follow-up continuous replication
• Powerful Transformations - Filter and transform data on-the-fly (see rules)
• Flexible Routing - Route to different tables and remap columns (see routing)
• Production Ready - Supports resumable streaming, DDL tracking, and more

Common Use Cases

• Real-time data replication between PostgreSQL databases
• ETL pipelines with data transformation
• Data re-routing, masking and filtering
• Database migration with zero downtime
• Event streaming from PostgreSQL

View detailed examples →

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Docker
• PostgreSQL database with wal_level=logical

1. Install

docker pull pgflo/pg_flo:latest

2. Configure

Choose one:

• Environment variables
• YAML configuration file (example)
• CLI flags

3. Run

# Start NATS server
docker run -d --name pg_flo_nats \
  --network host \
  -v /path/to/nats-server.conf:/etc/nats/nats-server.conf \
  nats:latest \
  -c /etc/nats/nats-server.conf

# Start replicator (using config file)
docker run -d --name pg_flo_replicator \
  --network host \
  -v /path/to/config.yaml:/etc/pg_flo/config.yaml \
  pgflo/pg_flo:latest \
  replicator --config /etc/pg_flo/config.yaml

# Start worker
docker run -d --name pg_flo_worker \
  --network host \
  -v /path/to/config.yaml:/etc/pg_flo/config.yaml \
  pgflo/pg_flo:latest \
  worker postgres --config /etc/pg_flo/config.yaml

Example Configuration (config.yaml)

# Replicator settings
host: "localhost"
port: 5432
dbname: "myapp"
user: "replicator"
password: "secret"
group: "users"
tables:
  - "users"

# Worker settings (postgres sink)
target-host: "dest-db"
target-dbname: "myapp"
target-user: "writer"
target-password: "secret"

# Common settings
nats-url: "nats://localhost:4222"

View full configuration options →

Core Concepts

Architecture

pg_flo uses two main components:

• Replicator: Captures PostgreSQL changes via logical replication
• Worker: Processes and routes changes through NATS

Learn how it works →

Groups

Groups are used to:

• Identify replication processes
• Isolate replication slots and publications
• Run multiple instances on same database
• Maintain state for resumability
• Enable parallel processing

# Example: Separate groups for different tables
pg_flo replicator --group users_orders --tables users,orders

pg_flo replicator --group products --tables products

Streaming Modes

1. Stream Only (default)
   • Real-time streaming of changes

pg_flo replicator --stream

1. Copy Only
   • One-time parallel copy of existing data

pg_flo replicator --copy --max-copy-workers-per-table 4

1. Copy and Stream
   • Initial parallel copy followed by continuous streaming

pg_flo replicator --copy-and-stream --max-copy-workers-per-table 4

Destinations

• stdout: Console output
• file: File writing
• postgres: Database replication
• webhook: HTTP endpoints

View destination details →

Advanced Features

Message Routing

Routing configuration is defined in a separate YAML file:

# routing.yaml
users:
  source_table: users
  destination_table: customers
  column_mappings:
    - source: id
      destination: customer_id

# Apply routing configuration
pg_flo worker postgres --routing-config /path/to/routing.yaml

Learn about routing →

Transformation Rules

Rules are defined in a separate YAML file:

# rules.yaml
tables:
    users:
      - type: exclude_column
        columns: password
      - type: exclude_column
        columns: ssn
      - type: transform
        column: email
        parameters:
          type: mask
          mask_char: "*"

# Apply transformation rules
pg_flo worker file --rules-config /path/to/rules.yaml

View transformation options →

Combined Example

pg_flo worker postgres --config /etc/pg_flo/config.yaml --routing-config routing.yaml --rules-config rules.yaml

Scaling Guide

Best practices:

• Run one worker per group
• Use groups to replicate different tables independently
• Scale horizontally using multiple groups

Example scaling setup:

# Group: sales
pg_flo replicator --group sales --tables sales
pg_flo worker postgres --group sales

# Group: inventory
pg_flo replicator --group inventory --tables inventory
pg_flo worker postgres --group inventory

Limits and Considerations

• NATS message size: 8MB (configurable)
• One worker per group recommended
• PostgreSQL logical replication prerequisites required
• Tables must have one of the following for replication:
  • Primary key
  • Unique constraint with NOT NULL columns
  • REPLICA IDENTITY FULL set

Example table configurations:

-- Using primary key (recommended)
CREATE TABLE users (
  id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  email TEXT,
  name TEXT
);

-- Using unique constraint
CREATE TABLE orders (
  order_id TEXT NOT NULL,
  customer_id TEXT NOT NULL,
  data JSONB,
  CONSTRAINT orders_unique UNIQUE (order_id, customer_id)
);
ALTER TABLE orders REPLICA IDENTITY USING INDEX orders_unique;

-- Using all columns (higher overhead in terms of performance)
CREATE TABLE audit_logs (
  id SERIAL,
  action TEXT,
  data JSONB
);
ALTER TABLE audit_logs REPLICA IDENTITY FULL;

Development

make build
make test
make lint

# E2E tests
./internal/scripts/e2e_local.sh

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request.

License

Apache License 2.0. View license →